Assignment -

Create an Excel file, the name of the file should contain your last name, e.g., "Smith1.xls" or "Smith1.xlsx". Complete all three problems.

Problem 1 - Cohort life/fecundity table, survivorship and mortality curves.

A cohort of Darwin's Ground Finches was followed from the time of hatching to the death of the last individual. The number of birds surviving each year is given in the table below. In your Excel file create a worksheet "Finches" and construct a cohort life table calculating values of survivorship, age-specific mortality, age-specific mortality rate and age-specific survivorship rate as shown below. Do all calculations in Excel using formulas.

Construct two plots: a survivorship plot (see for example Fig. 9.8 in Smith & Smith, note the log-scale of Y axis) and a mortality rate plot (as in Fig. 9.7 in Smith & Smith). Insert plots in the same spreadsheet. Include plot titles ("Survivorship" and "Mortality Rate") and label all axes.

Indicate below the table what type of survivorship curve this bird has ("Type 1" or "Type 2" or "Type 3").

The finches produce on average 0.5 fledglings per adult bird per year (this is their age-specific birth rate) starting from the age of 1 year. Calculate the net reproductive rate (R0) for this cohort and determine if this population is growing, declining or stable. Show all calculations in the same spreadsheet. Type the answer below the table.

Problem 2 - Life tables for dinosaurs.

It is impossible to model population dynamics of extinct plants and animals by using a cohort (dynamic) life table approach. Instead, a static life table can be constructed if age of each animal at the time of its death can be determined. This approach is used, for example, to reconstruct life histories of dinosaurs. A fossil assemblage containing the remains of 83 individuals of a dinosaur Psittacosaurus that lived in China in early Cretaceous was recently studied and the age of each individual at death was determined from the size of its bones. The table shows age distribution in this fossil assemblage.

In your Excel file create a worksheet "Dinosaurs" and construct a static life table with nx, lx, dx, qx, and sx columns. Construct the survivorship plot and describe in what respect(s) the survivorship curve of this dinosaur is similar to and different from a survivorship curve of a bird, for instance of a ground finch from the previous problem.

Problem 3 - Extra Credit.

Efforts to conserve old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest have focused heavily on protecting the endangered Northern Spotted Owl. To help evaluate the success of various conservation strategies, scientists estimated age-specific birth rates and survivorship for owls in northwest California. They banded a cohort of owl fledglings in several wildlife reserves and state parks and followed the fate of this cohort by collecting the bands after birds' death. The table below shows how many bands were returned each year after the birds were banded: this indicates how many of them died each year.

The estimated age-specific birth rates were 0 for birds younger than 1 year; 0.094 for 1 year-olds, 0.205 for 2 year-olds and 0.333 for the older birds.

In your Excel file create a worksheet "Owls" and construct a life/fecundity table (see Table 9.4 in Smith & Smith). Assume that all bands have been returned.

Calculate the net reproductive rate (R0) and determine whether this population is growing or declining. Show all calculations in Excel.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar